Strategic options development and analysis (SODA) is a problem structuring method that incorporates a particular approach to cognitive mapping that draws from the psychological theory of personal constructs. What differentiates it from all other cognitive mapping approaches is its use of bipolar constructs that enable the clarification of meaning. Besides their qualitative content, the structure of SODA maps allow for a range of quantitative analyses, especially through the use of graph theory. This article describes the contemporary context of cognitive mapping, introduces the design and analysis of SODA maps, and concludes with a critical appreciation that identifies three significant areas for further research.

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Recent years have seen attempts to make sense of the politics–administration dichotomy. Triangulating among historical research, empirical observations, new models of interaction between politicians and administrators, and the division of the literature into “schools,” novel ways of understanding and examining the dichotomy have developed. These have been largely thematic and have revealed the extent of a literature spanning more than 120 years. Because of its size, a complementary structural analysis of the literature now not only is conceivably useful but also can offer means for approaching it. This article offers an atlas—that is, a series of visual maps, accompanied by associated statistics and interpretations—that can assist researchers in their travels through the territory of the dichotomy. Ten ways of tackling the literature are presented, culminating in an initial reading list that covers the breadth of dichotomy research, thus providing an epistemological foundation for those who wish to enter the territory.

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Risk management in the real world of commerce, enterprise and administration is problematic, not least because corporate or inter-organisational stakeholders often have very different perceptions of the task at hand. Sectional interests and hidden agendas permeate discussions of proposals for change, and uncertainties obscure the possible effects of decisions on objectives. The embedding of risk issues within resulting micropolitical tangles presents a serious challenge to the development of appropriate forms of decision support. This paper reports on recent cross-disciplinary research which sought to assess the feasibility of utilising a set of 'low-tech' tools called Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) in just such a decision support role. Drawing on concepts and methods from sociology, organisation theory and operational research, the project adopted an action research approach to engaging with existing problem situations in two highly contrasting organisational settings. Our ndings suggest that PSM-based interventions may provide an opportunity to address practical dimensions of problem situations whilst re-negotiating linked but otherwise unspoken agendas.

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Those who venture into systems thinking may find difficulties in identifying exactly to what the idea of emergent property refers and what its significance might be. Drawing upon the writings of four major systems thinkers, twelve aspects of emergent properties are identified. Simultaneously, four related epistemological tasks are made explicit. An overall result is that the idea of emergent property is a unifying epistemological concept. More generally, systems thinking may be understood as an epistemological theory, or at least as a theory whose strength lies in its epistemological aspects. Such an understanding is considered in view of the similar concerns and conceptual similarities which systems thinking shares with phenomenology, a consideration which yields two additional aspects of emergent properties. The correspondences seen to exist between systems thinking and phenomenology lead to the conclusion that the two fields taken together illuminate an untapped source for future interdisciplinary research.